Quotes From Steelers RB Coach James Saxon On Kent State RB Dri Archer

New Pittsburgh Steelers running backs coach James Saxon addressed the media following the selection of Kent State running back Dri Archer in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft and here are his quotes from the press conference.

“He’s going to add to the running back room very well. He’s going to be able to be a dynamic football player with the ball in his hands.”

“The one think to the kid’s credit is he’s as tough as any kids I’ve been around and he’s going to learn to do a number of different things, and we’re going to try to put him in a position where he’s going to be able to succeed. Whatever way we can find to get this kid the ball or to have him involved in our offense, we’re going to do that as a staff. Todd Haley’s going to do a great job with that and we’re all going to work together to get this guy in the right place.”

“We had him sub four-two. Some scouts had him sub four-two. It doesn’t really matter. It’s part of it. I mean the kid can run. That’s obvious, you can see that on tape. There’s no denying that part of it, but the kid is a special football player like I said with the ball in his hands.”

well coach said it all….just look at some his tape before you just dismiss this kid ..i did and boy was i impressed…..i dont know of many if any cb can stay up with this kid unless he backs up 20 yards to do it

I’m impressed by your tagging Annen in the 6th! Very smart pick! I would LOVE your draft!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’ve got a VERY GOOD feeling about this draft re the Steelers–they’re taking chances and hitting home runs!

Brendon Glad

Sub 4.2 perked my eyes up…I gotta admit. I’m ain’t gonna lie, I watch way more NFL than I do NCAAF. So I tend towards need and combine/scouting reels. But all I know is that Bell and Blount looked like the RB position was in good hands. And history has shown that you have nearly every bit as good of a chance to find great RB’s late as you do early. And if he is T. Austin, well…aside from 1 game, T. Austin was a gigantic disappointment in year 1, so the jury is still out. So, I will reserve full judgment on the pick til after I see whether proper attention was paid to the needs…but in general, a scatback in the 3rd round looks way less attractive than Chris Rainey in the 5th…and that one was a flop too.

GhettoBelligerent

I agree with that but DAMN we got some ground to make up after this WASTED pick. Check every single Dri Archer highlight he isn’t touched. Check every single Le’veon Bell highlight he IS touched. Doesn’t add up… oh wait… what’s this magic dust stuff here…

StrengthOfVictory

Guys, you have to consider this kid a slot receiver AND a kick returner AND a change-of-pace back.

Think of third down, shotgun formation, empty backfield. Brown and Wheaton lined up outside, and Archer in the slot. Who do you cover?

Brendon Glad

I don’t think anyone in Steelers Nation dismisses the pick. He just will need to show a lot for it to make much sense. Especially when the Steelers, the National media, and our eyeballs all saw Bell as a guy who should be able to play 2.5 downs…and we got our Blount instrument to take the pounding on the other .5 downs. 7th round scat-back makes much more sense than 3rd round scatback.

Alejandro Caballero

I don´t know how well this work, but for madden players, the Shazier and Archer picks are A+++++

Alejandro Caballero

I also wanted Moncrieff, he was my favorite wr after Evans, Cooks and Watkins, almost anyone had something bad to say about him, but I think we now have an even better RB trio that the one that had saints a few years ago

Alejandro Caballero

I agree, I hope they get Bryant, just don´t trade next years theird round, unless is that only pick you involve in the trade and the one that you get is the first fourth

Alejandro Caballero

I think Archer is much better than Rainey, what if you get an even faster Sproles??

Brendon Glad

I hope you are right. But if you were able to force every member of NFL secondaries to read your post, I bet only 20% of them would even have any idea whom you are talking about besides A.Brown. Wheaton and Archer have proven little or nothing as to whether they can be covered or not in the NFL…so I doubt any NFL secondaries are too worried as of today. Hopefully by October they will be.

isn’t he about 20 pounds lighter than sproles one good hit on archer and lights out.

steelster

risky to put him at rb in the nfl. He is really small.

Brendon Glad

Well he’s already faster than Sproles apparently…so yeah, if he has the 540 lb squat strength, extreme quickness, vision, durability, smarts, hands, and work ethic of Sproles, and the Steelers don’t want Bell to be a workhorse back, then the pick makes complete sense. But what if he’s Dwight Stone? Or even a smaller Willie Parker. I actually liked Dwight Stone, and loved Willie Parker. But my point is…uber-athletic smallish RB’s are a dime-a-dozen…So in my opinion, we made that draft pick as if we were Seattle, and had just dominated a SB. Not as a team with way less cushion for what I would call, “a luxury pick”.

Tanner Blackman

Annen would be a steal. Huge fan of him. And if they get two of those CB, I’ll be okay with the Shazier pick. Him and Timmons in the middle would be great and Jones and Worilds outside would equal a great LB core. I think we need one more T and I think with Mike signed as our O-line coach he can fix Henderson. The Larry Webster pick is a pick I really hope they end up trading to move up and get these 5 people. Other than that if we can somehow get Logan Thomas in Pitt and get him throwing strikes I’m a sucker for tall and fast QB

Tanner Blackman

Also signing James Harrison for insurance is our next move

Rob

I could live with that. I’d let Bryant go though. He’s a bit of a head case. I like Desir. I’d also like to see a nt

Rob

Like Annen too

Rubem Dornas

What about seeing what’s gonna happen on the field and then criticize?

steelster

If the steelers draft a rookie OLB I don’t see how Harrison fits in the picture. We shall see.

steelster

that’s not any fun.

Alejandro Caballero

or maybe they see more in Moye

Alejandro Caballero

Sproles only did 3 more bench reps than Archer, being heavier by 15 pounds, Archer did 20, your not going to run him through the tackles, he is going to run outside, take pitches and return kicks, also he has good hands.
In other words he could end up being better

Rob

Maybe… I just like the defensive theme to this draft. We still need an
Upgrade at receiver, but we can’t get everything in one draft. I’d rather get these developmental prospects and go into next years drafts with no glaring needs–maybe just reciever

Alejandro Caballero

you already have 2 heavy rb, you need speed, plus with him, you are not risking you second best offensive player on punt returs, he will handle that day one. I remember you that Sproles has two other complementary backs

Alejandro Caballero

look, I think, they see much more often the capabilities of the players, maybe they know that Wheaton is a solid player, so you have one great reciver (Brown) a really solid one (Wheaton) and a secure blanket (Moore), I mean, how many recivers you want to put on the field.
P.S. you also have Miller, Bell and Archer 3 good catchers

Alejandro Caballero

thats a 1/8 not that bad, man with the speed he has and the catch radius, I don´t care if he drops some Home runs because he is geving me many more

Rob

Well, I like those receivers, but I would love to see Ben throwing the ball to someone like Larry Fitzgerald. There’s truth that we need a bigger WR to complement the others, but it’s not as urgent as some thought. With that said, it would be nice to have another TE to give the offense more diversity. We also have to start preparing for the end of Heath. I love him, but he can’t play forever

Dewayne Braxton

Blount was a necessary pick becasue they decided to part ways with Dwyer and the other bumbs they’d been carrying.

Dewayne Braxton

I agree. He is a game breaker.

Alejandro Caballero

Well if you want a Fitzgerald or Megatron or something like that, you have to star by picking top 5.
I think Miller still has 3-4 years, I think he can have this year 6-8 TD, but I agree it wouldn´t be bad to get a red zone threat, but maybe they don´t need it with The doble Bs we have now (Bell and Blount (I know bad joke )) you can also score by ground or not?

Brendon Glad

I had typed some negative opinions on the pick, because I tend to be “Steelers need-driven”….and I did it without watching the Archer highlight tape. But I just did watch that on Youtube, and frankly his speed with the ball in his hands is very rare….even with cuts, even after contact once he gets started again. I noticed something long ago, perhaps because I do video production as a profession, perhaps because I watch a lot of NFL football…but when cameras pan for players carrying the ball, it usually “feels the same.” Like the lines moving. Very rarely, you watch a guy with the ball, and you catch yourself saying, “that felt weird….it almost threw my equilibrium off.” Rod Woodson, Deion Sanders, early michael Vick, and early Chris Johnson, are the only players I can recall who did that. Archer did that to me. So I’m gonna backtrack for a year or so….because Chris Rainey and T. Austin are fast with the ball…but they didn’t look like what I just saw on that youtube video. my bad for typing without watching first.

Dewayne Braxton

And he still has to run ove the first guy or make him miss. If he was so talented he wold have a lot of negative carries. But this a subject for another day.

Dewayne Braxton

Yea but drops at crucial moments can kill a season. Remember Sanders droping the two point conversion in Baltimore?

sean mcmartin

I guess the FO has faith in the CB’s and WR’s they have . Just don’t get a good feeling that they ignored WR and CB in the first 3 rounds and took a small RB ahead of them. Hope the first three picks can actually get on the field this year.

Dewayne Braxton

I am sure Sproles is heavier today than he was as a rookie. The kid can gain weight and still be faster than everybody esle.

Brendon Glad

I just backtracked on my criticism above. I just watched his highlight tape and it really blew me away. Threw off my equilibrium, in fact. Only had that happen 4 other times as the camera tried to pan with their ball-carrying. God Woodson, Deion, early Vick, and early cj2k. Even the “really fast guys” like Fast Willie, james Jett, Dwight Stone….never threw off my equilibrium with the ball in their hands like that. We both may be right. He may not be = in any of the other things that make Sproles special, but his speed is ethereal. So I will shut-up and support it 110% for now…and hope needs get filled well with our remaining 6 picks.

Dewayne Braxton

The 4.26 is not dime a dozen.

Brendon Glad

Yeah, I’ve backtracked. The 4.26 is sometimes just a number…(since they aren’t carrying footballs, pads, or helmets)…but his highlight tape blew me away. Didn’t care about the competition….it was what his own body was doing that told me to shut up and support the pick 110%. So i’m fully on board.

steelster

I think he has a chance to be a really good slot wr in the nfl.

steelster

I see archer as more of a slot wr in the nfl. He is a clone of Dexter Mccluster but faster which is scary.

Dewayne Braxton

I do too. It seems like we are going after impact players. This guy is not an eery downb ack and he is small but he also the potential to become an impact player. He can two or three plays a week that may determine the outcomes of games. I like the pick.

Dewayne Braxton

Hopefully, both Wheaton and Archer will make their presence felt in the preseason. We need them to develop early. The last two years we’ve started in the hole. This year we need tow in some games early and we will need these two to contribute.Starting out Archer has to at least help us on special teams and Wheaton is the obvious starter opposite Brown. Both should get alot of preseason reps.

Dewayne Braxton

He should be able to handle some situational carries. Small backs are able to do that.

shawn

Tape and play will change peoples mind … he is mind boggling fast … and i BOLDLY Predict that by next year … Archer will be one of the TOP selling Steeler Jerseys … he is that SPECIAL !

shawn

He is MUCH BETTER & FASTER than Austin … write it down !

shawn

Glad ur not drafting … phewww

shawn

Actaully he plays much faster than 4.2 … (fastest player on field I’ve ever seen) yes seriously … plus he is strong as an OX (more reps than Jarvis ?? ) and runs well between tackles

shawn

hes obviously not as big as sproles but does much of the same thing …. but much faster and gets lost in the middle just like sproles !

shawn

he is a beast … very tough … I’m not worried about his size at all … did 20 reps … yes 20 !!! will be very hard for anyone to get good clean hard shots on him … u will be pleasantly surprised !

shawn

Actually he does very very well between the tackles !!!

shawn

This guy is not a dime a dozen … u will see that soon enough … I’m saying it LOUD n PROUD … fastest guy to EVER play the game (field speed) … he will get 5-10 touches a game .. passes, kickoffs reverse, runs etc .. will not impact Bells load … he will still get his required 20+ reps a game !!

shawn

Thanks !!! it is amazing isn’t it … i have never seen speed like that on the field !

shawn

and he runs much faster than that time speed … which is crazy i know !

shawn

he will do very well on kick offs … and is actually a better RB than a WR … i hope they use him that way too … he is special !

Dewayne Braxton

I just watched his highlights. Sure, there were other good players on the board but this kid has the exceptional skills you can’t coach. He not only has speed but he also knows how to run the ball. He has good vision- makes the right cuts at the right time. He is more than speed. The kid is instinctive with a lot of wiggle. Neither Mike Wallace, Stone, nor Arnold possed his skills.

shawn

very well said … i know i have posted a zillion times about how high i am on this kid .. but he deserves it … even though he isn’t an every down back the skills and roles he fills is every bit deserving of a starter quality pick ( KR, RB, WR, X Factor ) his possibilities are sky high …. only limited by Haleys imagination

Rob

I hope miller has that much time! He’s one of my favorites. Still, it seems like teams can do a lot with two tight end sets these days. It might be a good idea for Pitt to get on board. As for scoring on the ground, that all depends on if Munch can fix our O-Line. I know the steelers say official they like belcham starting, but I can’t believe they are truly comfortable with any of our tackles. I know I’m not. Back to receiver, that’s just a dream. I would like a tall red zone receiver with great hands and tough possession receiver like Hines ward. I think it’s safe to say we have speed covered

Dewayne Braxton

True, and drafting the wr and corner we need will make this pick look even better.

shawn

Yes .. by no means are we done and not getting a BiG WR & CB … they might just have to wait til next year to get one … can’t fill all the holes …

the way i see it is the biggest needs we have right now .. are below … i think we will fill at least 2 this year and get the other 3 next

It’s right or wrong with this pick. Either the steelers hit big with this kid or it was an awful pick. They liked him more than a later pick which means they must be very high on him. I can’t judge. I don’t know what they know but if they’re wrong…..

steelersfan

I’ve never had so little faith in a pick before this one. This is way too high for a player who….screw it. whats the point

Rod Hedrick

Dave we need some clips of this guy. I want ti like him, not sure of drafting him this early.

cp72

“We had him at sub 4.2″…..SUB 4.2?!?

I know this seems like a luxury pick, but that is insane speed. He has a chance to be a special teams nightmare that can change field position quickly. I have been begging for a guy like this for years. Thought it was going to be Rainey, but that didn’t workout. I am very excited about this pick.

Weiss Chad

This kids tough as nails

Weiss Chad

I knew you would come around

Weiss Chad

I’m pretty sure a lot of people know who archer is

Weiss Chad

Runs a sub 4.2 but looks even quicker.In 2012 avg almost ten yards a carry on over a hundred carries.Can play rb and wr.He is a situational mismatch and a special teams nightmare.Great pick

cencalsteeler

It seems the naysayers seem to be stuck on this kids size, unfairly comparing him to Rainey. The big picture is Archer has the ability to give us some nice field position with special teams. The offense starting with a short field as opposed to having to march all the way down is where Archer’s main impact will be. Sprinkle in some offensive possessions with him and we have ourselves a nice 3 rd. pick. Our special teams needs attention and the brass hit the nail on the head with this pick!
Archer>Dwyer and Jones

dkoy85

Re-read your comment. Really?

Ike Evans

i mean…they needed a home run hitter but man, there are some rbs still on the board…*shrugs* im not mad though we needed a fast guy like him to go with Le Backfield…i dont see why guys are so mad…there are still alot of corners left

Weiss Chad

James Saxon says” this kid is as tough as any rb he has ever been around”And that this was their planned pick in third rd.Not a consolation prize.

Weiss Chad

I bet you every coach and gm knows who he is. I bet Baltimore ,Cleveland,and Cincinnati are thinking about him right now

Weiss Chad

I liked moncrief myself.I like archer better .he makes us better in all dimensions of special teams and offense

Brendon Glad

I’ve officially rejected every negative thing i said about the pick after watching his youtube highlight videos. He blew me away, if he gets hurt, isn’t used well, has off-field issues…. I’m ready to swallow that. Because frankly, he is about as explosive of a ball-carrier as ive ever seen. Im all-in!

Brendon Glad

Yeah, me too….I’m trying to backtrack every negative comment I made in that hour when I was focusing on need instead of Archer’s ability. I admit, I hadn’t watched him…so I went to youtube, and by gosh, I see huge things ahead for him. I’m all-in.